


Summer Melts Away Like Ice Cream

by Colorfullyminded



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: But like it doesn't follow canon completely, Choo Choo all aboard the feels train, Conflicting feelings of love and hate, Feels Train, I like to think what would happen if Roxas and Sora talked in Roxas's dreams, I think something like this, Just let Roxas be fucking happy, M/M, Roxas is confused and saddled with unnecessary feelings, Some onesided feelings, Takes place during Canon KH2, but still, cept with all the gay shit, something similar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 06:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11480598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colorfullyminded/pseuds/Colorfullyminded
Summary: Summer Vacation, Roxas thinks, is a lot like Sea Salt Icecream.It’s refreshing, a cool reprieve from the rest of his life. There’s also a saltiness to it, whether from the frozen treat, the ocean breeze carrying in the wind, or the sweat dripping down the back of his neck. And most importantly, the two go hand in hand; Sea Salt is best enjoyed during summer vacation, and summer vacation can’t start officially without the light blue bar.But, Roxas thinks as he bites into his salty sweet treat, there is something else about the two, something not as pleasant.





	Summer Melts Away Like Ice Cream

Summer Vacation, Roxas thinks, is a lot like Sea Salt Icecream.

 

It’s refreshing, a cool reprieve from the rest of his life. There’s also a saltiness to it, whether from the frozen treat, the ocean breeze carrying in the wind, or the sweat dripping down the back of his neck. And most importantly, the two go hand in hand; Sea Salt is best enjoyed during summer vacation, and summer vacation can’t start officially without the light blue bar.

 

But, Roxas thinks as he bites into his salty sweet treat, there is something else about the two, something not as pleasant.

 

Summer vacation, just like Sea Salt Icecream, melts away far too quickly for Roxas’s liking.

 

“Whatcha thinking about Roxas?” Roxas is pulled from his thoughts by a soft, feminine voice. He looks to his left, and for a moment, he thinks he catches a flash of black hair and crystalline blue eyes looking at him, a big smile on her face.

 

_X...i...o...n_

 

But when he blinks, the hazy memory is gone, and instead, he is staring at one of his three close friends, Olette. Ink turns to auburn, and sapphires turn to emeralds. Roxas blinks again, and rubs his eyes, a dull ache in the back of his head. He feels like a migraine is coming on. “Sorry, what did you say Olette?”

 

“Geez Roxas, you’re really off in your own world, aren’t you? You got to pay more attention you know!” _Got...It...Memorized?_

 

Roxas whips his head to the right, the dull ache in his head spiking. For a moment he thinks under the sun’s burning rays, he sees a flash of fire red locks and mischievous jade eyes; a distant, fuzzy figure smirking at him. But when he shakes his head, trying to disassociate thoughts from reality, there’s no tall, smirking figure in a coat. Instead there are two other teens, closer to his height, one boy with spiked hair and army pants, and the other a portly young man with black hair in the shape of a palm tree’s leaves. The army boy is pouting surly, the other is fretting at his bottom lip. “Sorry Hayner, Pence, won’t happen again.”

 

They all nod, seeming to accept his apology quite quickly. Pence adds, no longer fretting at his lips, but his eyes still filled with concern. “You should be careful Roxas, you look  pale. Maybe you should get away from the ledge for a little while.”

 

Roxas, just to make sure, looks forward. Sure enough, they’re all sitting on the edge of the clock tower, their usual spot. It’s a far drop down below, the people walking around looking like ants from where he is. Roxas should feel like his heart is going to drop into his stomach, but Roxas doesn’t feel even the slightest bit of fear at the distance below, or how close he’s sitting to the edge, legs dangling, leaning precariously over to look down. It feels like he’s been up here before; sitting on the edge of the clock tower with his friends, enjoying his starting to melt ice cream together. It’s weird, but this feeling’s so very familiar, as if this isn’t the first time he’s done it. And not just because he, Olette, Pence, and Hayner come often.

 

Olette nods, putting a gentle hand on Roxas’s shoulder, “Yeah, you look like you might collapse. We don’t want you accidentally tipping forward.”

 

Roxas looks back at Olette, and tries to offer her a reassuring smile. He does feel a little weak kneed, but he also doesn’t feel like coming down from his perch just yet. He wants to savor this memory forever, with his friends. “It’s okay Olette, I’m fine really. I think I’m just tired, I haven’t been getting much sleep.” It’s the truth. He has been having some odd dreams as of recently. Funny, before the start of Summer, he didn’t remember dreaming much at all.

 

“Okay, but don’t blame us if you fall off and go splattering on the asphalt.” Hayner teases, trying to lighten the mood. Roxas is grateful for that.

 

“Jee, thanks Hayner, can always count on you as a friend,” Roxas’s voice drips with playful sarcasm, nudging his elbow into Hayner’s side. Hayner jolts, and then nudges him back, a little more forcefully. Roxas rocks dangerously from his seat, and Hayner quickly grabs him by the lapels of his jacket, steadying him. They look at each other, then burst into laughter, while Pence lets out a sigh of relief, and Olette chides them both for roughhousing.

 

“Knock it off you two! You shouldn’t be pushing each other from up here, or else you’ll BOTH end up as pancakes on the sidewalk” Olette puffs up like a mother hen.

 

“Sorry, Olette” They apologize simultaneously, which causes them to start snickering again. Olette rolls her eyes and gives up.

 

“Oh Roxas! Your ice cream.” At Pence’s comment, Roxas stops laughing and looks down at his frozen treat. The half eaten ice cream has melted so much that the rest slides off the stick dangling between his limp fingers, and goes tumbling down to the town below. The four watch quietly, the iridescent blue becoming harder and harder to spot, until they’re unable to see it anymore. They’re not sure at what point it’s hit the pavement. If it’s even hit the pavement yet.

 

“I hope that doesn’t hit anyone.” Pence frets.

 

“I’d be pissed if it hit me. Ice Cream in your hair would be the worst to wash out!” Olette gags.

 

“I hope it hits Seifer!” Hayner snickers.

 

Roxas just stares at his bare ice cream stick.

 

_Summer Vacation melts away, much like Sea Salt Icecream does._

 

\---

 

Roxas’s dreams are of another boy, traversing different worlds. He carries a large key, that also serves as a weapon, and with it, and his group of colorfully animated friends (a dog and duck?), he “unlocks” the world’s “heart”. At least, that’s what Roxas gets from the dreams. It’s all a bit confusing the first time around. But Roxas thinks he’s getting the hang of these strange, almost realistic dreams.

 

At least, that’s what the dreams are usually about. Not tonight.

 

Roxas falls into a fitful sleep, the warm summer night making his first attempts to lie down futile. By the time he’s able to fall asleep, his forehead is wet with sweat, his bangs clinging to his face. The small fan by his bedside is cooling, but he still feels hot all over. Despite that, Roxas likes the feeling. He likes these warm summer nights, treasuring them as if they might be his last, even though he’s sure no one else would agree. He's not sure why he loves them so much, since he’s spent many years struggling for sleep under them. He should be disgusted by his damp skin, his t-shirt clinging to his backside, by the sweltering heat suffocating the room. He should be sick of summer nights altogether. Though Roxas thinks, as consciousness slips from his grip, he doesn’t really remember Twilight Town's summer nights prior. For some reason, this feeling feels foreign, like this is the first time he’s ever experienced it. And it's a feeling so newly welcomed.

 

For awhile, Roxas finds himself walking through an empty white room. All around him there’s nothing but white. It’s the first time he’s ever dreamed this. Roxas is looking around, hoping to find anything, especially a way out, when a voice calls in the distance.

 

“Hello?”

 

Roxas turns around, and finds himself suddenly sitting on the edge of the clocktower, a Sea Salt stick in his mouth. Near the opening of the clock tower’s stairwell, it’s the boy from his dreams, staring at him. The boy looks around them, surprised, and a little confused; lost.

 

Roxas pulls the finished stick from his mouth. “I’ve dreamt about you,” he says. Roxas inwardly cringes; that’s not exactly a great way to start. This boy is going to think he’s a weirdo, or clinically insane.

 

Surprisingly the boy doesn’t think either. He turns to look back at Roxas, and though his eyebrows are raised, there’s this look of relief on his face. “I feel like I’ve dreamt of you too,” he confides.

 

Roxas pats the spot next to him. “Would you like to sit down?” he asks. The boy smiles and nods, walking towards him and lifting himself up on the ledging without any hesitation.

 

Roxas thinks this conversation is disjointed. There’s so much he wants to ask, but for some reason, none of those questions come out when he opens his mouth. He can’t understand why he’s speaking so casually, when he knows he should be confused, asking questions about the boy, like “Why are you here?” and “Who are you?” and “Why do you keep showing up in my dreams?”

 

But this boy, he can’t explain it. But talking with him, he feels this unspoken familiarity. Like he’s known this boy all his life, even though he's certain they've never met.

 

“Would you like a Sea Salt Ice Cream?” Roxas offers, holding out his hand that had been holding his finished Popsicle moments ago. Only now, there’s a newly formed, full Sea Salt bar on the stick. His other hand holds another Ice Cream; one for him. That wasn’t there before. Roxas doesn’t question either, though he knows he should.

 

The boy nods, and takes the bar, their fingers brushing. Roxas feels electricity shoot up his arm at the contact. There’s this faint need to touch the other boy again, to be connected again, no matter what. Roxas shakes the thought and focuses on his ice cream instead. He bites into the edge of his treat, staring at the never ending sunset. He knows the other is doing the same.

 

“I feel like I’ve seen this place before. But only once. It felt different then. Quieter, like a ghost town. But now, I feel like I’m really seeing it for the first time. The sunset is beautiful,” the boy says.

 

Roxas nods in agreement, “It’s always twilight here, the sunset is never ending. It’s my favorite time of the day. Although...I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sky any other color but this. I’m sure I should be sick of this view, since it’s the only one I’ve ever know. But...I love it. I really can’t help adoring it. And this,” he rubs his hand over the bumpy gravel of the ledging, “this is my favorite spot to view it from.”

 

The boy doesn’t answer for a long minute; Roxas believes he’s even disappeared, that it’s just him on this ledge now. But then, he hears the other’s voice, “I’ve been to so many places, seen so many colored skies. But I think I agree with you, I think there’s something incredibly beautiful about this sight.” Roxas turns to look at him, only to find the boy looking directly at him, smiling sweetly. The twilight light shines off his tanned face, giving him an almost angelic glow. His dark locks brighten to an almost copper. And his eyes. Those big blue oceanic’s, reflecting golden light, Roxas sees the sunset on the beach.

 

He inhales sharply, his cheeks turning pink, as that tingling sensation washes over him again.

 

_The need to be close...the need to be connected…_

 

Roxas suddenly has the desire to see the ocean.

 

He swallows, then says, stuttering over his own tongue as he tries to form any semblance of coherency, “In my dreams, I see you, traveling other worlds. Worlds I’ve never seen before, but they feel...familiar. You’re fighting monsters. These weird, inky shadows... _Heartless._ A-and they’re trying to turn people into them, trying to bring out the darkness in everyone. But there’s you. You’re fighting them off, with your friends, protecting them from the creatures trying to steal their hearts. You keep touching everyone with your light, and you chase the darkness away."

 

Roxas swallows, feeling heat creeping up the back of his neck, as he continues, "I don’t even know you. But from my dreams, I feel like I know everything about you. I feel like I know you more than anyone. I don’t know, it’s weird, and kind of scary. But I can’t stop dreaming about you.” He thinks that somehow, this is even more embarrassing than if he kept his mouth shut.

 

The boy frowns, looking suddenly sad. Roxas worries he said too much and upset his new companion. He's just about to apologize for making things awkward when, “My friends... Last I remember, I was with them. But, now I can’t find them. It's just me.” The boy chews his bottom lip and looks out toward the perpetually setting sun.

 

Roxas feels the pain in his own heart. He can’t explain it, but he understands the other’s feelings. Losing someone important, unable to find the people closest to him. He aches all over from it. “Donald, and Goofy, right? Those are the friends you're talking about, right?” 

 

The boy brightens, looking at Roxas hopefully, “YEAH! Have you seen them! Are they here?”

 

Roxas feels bad at getting the other’s hopes up. He shakes his head, and the boy deflates. “I’m sorry, I don’t think they’re here. I only know about them from my dreams. But, I’m sure you’ll find them soon. They’re important to you, and you're important to them, so you'll find each other again.”

 

This seems to cheer the boy up, because he looks back at Roxas and smiles again, though this one is a lot more subdued. It still makes Roxas’s heart race.

 

They spend a few minutes just watching each other. Then the boys tilts his head, and that shy smile turns even more sugary sweet, and Roxas thinks he might go diabetic from such an expression. “I feel like I know a lot about you too. From my dreams about you.”

 

Roxas suddenly feels embarrassed, turning away to hide his heated cheeks from the other. He feels so average, compared to the hero before him. “I don’t know why you dream about me. I mean, I’ve never done anything epic like you. There isn’t anything special to me. Can my life really be that fascinating?” _Waking up and hanging out with friends?_  Could the other really dream about him and be satisfied with such a boring lifestyle? Is there anything worth knowing about Roxas?

 

But he feels (more than sees) the boy shake his head, “I dream about you, and in all my dreams, you’re also on adventures. You, you’ve traveled to so many places, some places that I recognize. In fact you’ve been to as many places as I have!”

 

Roxas turns back to him, his eyebrows furrowing, “Huh? That’s impossible. I’ve never left Twilight Town.”

 

But the boy just shrugs, unable to explain it either, and goes on, “I don’t know, but those are the dreams I have about you. And it might not make sense, but I feel like these dreams of you have happened. Like in a past life or something. Only it’s you, the you that’s here now. I feel like my dreams of you are memories. I'm not sure who’s or how, but that’s just this weird feeling I get from them. The dreams always end with you on this clocktower, eating ice cream with two other people. A boy and a girl.”

 

“Oh? Olette and Hayner? Or Maybe Pence?” _Funny, how come he only sees one boy, when he has two male friends._

 

The boy hums thoughtfully, though skeptic, “Maybe.”

 

They’re silent again. Roxas looks at the ice cream in the boy’s hand. It’s halfway melted, droplets of ice blue coloring dripping down and running over the boy’s tanned fingers, making them sticky. Roxas swallows again, then glances at the ice cream in his own hand. It’s also melted, dripping over his fingers. And yet he doesn’t feel cold like he expects.

 

_It feels hot._

 

“Roxas?”

 

The sound of his name coming from the boy’s mouth makes Roxas lift his head, mouth falling open in surprise. How does the other boy know his name? He doesn’t ever remember telling him it. He doesn’t even know the other boy’s name. “Sor--”

 

But when he looks up, he’s alone. And when he looks toward the sunset of Twilight town…

 

He only finds a blank, white room.

 

\---

 

He wakes up, disoriented and sticky from his own perspiration. He peels himself from his bed sheets, rubbing the remaining sleep from his tired eyes. He glances out the window, the sunset shining brightly from his bedroom window, filling the room in an orange haze. He crawls towards his window, opening it to let in the warm summer air and to better bask in the light of Twilight's unchanging morning. He still enjoys it, though it never changes, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. 

 

He smells salt in the air. And he pictures a vast blue Caribbean, the same color as the boy in his dream's smiling eyes.

 

_“Maybe this time, we’ll finally hit the beach!”_

 

\---

 

“Roxas”

 

Roxas turns around. And just like the first time, there’s that boy from his dreams, staring at him from the stairwell of the clock tower. He doesn’t look lost though. He looks relieved, happy to see the other there.

 

Roxas smiles, “Hi, Sora,” He hears himself say. The boy-- Sora's -- smile widens, and he moves toward Roxas, pulling himself up over the ledging of the clock tower again, just like last time. The name rolls in his mouth. He doesn’t know how he knows it, but it's strangely good. Like it fits the boy. Like it’s supposed to be his name. And that Roxas is supposed to know it, say it.

 

Roxas also realizes there’s this small pang of anger that flares in his heart when he says it.

 

He chases the feeling away.

 

“Ice cream?” Roxas asks, handing him a Sea Salt that has materialized right at this moment, just for the both of them. Sora nods, and takes it, their fingers once more brushing. This time, the contact lasts a lot longer, and when Sora pulls his hand away, it’s with a bit of reluctance. _Does he feel the weird tingling too?_

 

“You know my name…” Roxas says, finally voicing the thoughts he’s been wanting to say since the beginning. It seems like his mouth is finally working with his thoughts, though somehow, it’s still a bit disjointed. As if it’s not a proper conversation. Just snippets of a conversation. A foggy, muddled image. Disturbing...but still very familiar.

 

“You know my name too…” Sora returns back.

 

“Yeah, I’m not sure why?” Roxas admits.

 

“I’m not sure why either,” Sora replies honestly, and Roxas feels somewhat better knowing he’s not the only one in the dark.

 

“I kind of hate knowing your name,” Roxas’s second omission.

 

“Oh? Why?” Sora sounds hurt, but also, surprisingly understanding. Like he already expected it.

 

Roxas shrugs, and looks towards the sunset. The sight he once loved, could spend hours looking at, even told Sora how much he adored it--he’s starting to hate that too. “It makes me feel nervous. Afraid. Like knowing your name means something bad.”

 

“Something Bad?” Sora asks.

 

“Something bad for me. Like something’s bad going to happen to me.” Roxas clenches his fist until they’re white. But he can’t feel the pain, can’t feel his nails biting into the palm of his hand. Can’t feel the handle of the Sea Salt ice cream in his right grip either. It’s not real. It doesn’t exist.

 

_Y͖̘̥̞ͯͮͭȯ̻̬͙́̊u͖͖̰̻ͨͤ̐͂͐͐ͨ.ͫ̎̃̅̓.͎̔̒̂͐ͣͫ.̣͚̰̖͎͓̟̎̐͑̇͆̉d̞̜̙ö̰͎̽n̻͛̎͊̉̍ͮ̍’̬͎̪̜̳̻tͬͣ.̭̩͎͑̄͒̐̊́.͔̤͈̖͎͐̔̚.͔̮̱͕̾e̟̦̳̰̪ͯͤͪ̉x̩͓͍͎̦̦̺̍i͉̪̐ͫ̈s͇̺͎̩̞͓̫͋͑t̜ͩͨ.̦͇̊͌̾́̋.̣͍̂.̥̃̏_

 

“Do you think that I’m going to hurt you?” Sora asks nervously, his eyes swimming with concern. He sounds a little scared, like he’s worried he might actually hurt the other. Roxas lets out a bark of laughter, only it’s choked with emotion, so it comes out strangled.

 

“No, not you. I don’t think you’d hurt me. But...I still feel like, like knowing your name, someone _is_ going to hurt me.”

 

“Who?” Now Sora sounds protective, like he’s about to fight whatever’s trying to harm Roxas. Roxas feels his eyes burn with oncoming tears, but he manages to push them back. He shakes his head, and weakly looks down at the street below. Except there’s nothing below. It’s a black, empty abyss below. If Roxas leans too far, he’s going to fall in.

 

And just keep falling…

 

“I don’t know. I don’t even think it’s a person. I know that doesn’t make much sense Sora, but it feels like…” He looks at his hand, his ice cream dangling between limp fingers. Once more untouched, once more melted. The rest slips off the stick and falls into the abyss below.

 

 _“...Time is running out?”_ Roxas looks up in surprise and turns to looks at Sora. Sora is looking right at him, his expression unreadable.

 

Before the other can even speak, Sora’s hand reaches over and gently touches Roxas’s cheek. It’s a shock of cold against his face. There’s also something sticky about it, as it clings itself to Roxas’s skin. Sora’s ice cream is missing, and Roxas thinks that it’s melted into the abyss as well, but not before coating Sora’s hand with it’s sticky syrup. It forces them to stay connected. Roxas’s whole face buzzes with electricity. It’s almost painful, but Roxas needs more of it.

 

“I want summer to last forever...” Roxas says, his voice chock full of emotion: pain, anger, hatred, fear, need, anguish, hope.

 

_Despair._

 

Sora doesn’t respond, his face still unnaturally blank. Roxas has only ever seen the boy with a dopey smile on his face, or a confident grin. This unnatural stoicism makes Roxas feel like screaming.

 

He suddenly hates this person. He hates the face staring at him. He hates the boy from his dreams. He hates--

 

“SORA!” He screams.

 

Sora leans forward and presses their lips together.

 

Roxas doesn’t resist. He brings his gloved hands up and presses them to Sora’s face, returning the kiss with the same desperation. His whole body feels like a livewire, every part of him is sparking and electrified. He can’t understand it; hates it, fears it. But this unexplainable need to be connected to this person. Like he belongs to Sora. Like he’s supposed to be right beside Sora. Connected.

 

His hands keep moving, reaching back towards Sora’s chocolate spikes, gripping large chunks of his hair. Roxas pulls roughly, feeling the pain at the back of his own head, like someone is tugging on his own hair. Hearing the surprised, but desperate moan, he slips his tongue in Sora’s mouth. And simultaneously feels a tongue slip into his own mouth, though that shouldn't be possible.

 

He feels like someone's hooked him up to jumper cables. His body is shaking, his fingers twitching, skin humming and buzzing, the hairs on his arm and the back of his neck standing on end. It’s the most excruciating pain Roxas has ever experienced. But only because he needs more.

 

Somehow it’s not enough. This isn’t enough. He knows it’s just a dream. And he doesn’t want it to be a dream anymore. He needs Sora next to him. He needs Sora with him. He needs the real Sora. He can’t describe this desire, or his agitation, but he needs Sora to wake up!

 

And he hates it. He hates his desperation. He hates his confusion at not understanding anything about himself, or Sora, or what’s going on anymore. He hates that it makes him bitter, makes him spiteful. He hates his muddled feelings. He hates these confusing, disjointed memories that barely feel like his own anymore. He hates that he doesn’t even feel like himself anymore, that he needs to feel like someone else now. He hates wanting to be attached to Sora, to bring them together. He hates this feeling of connection. He wants to sever it. He doesn’t want to be apart of it. Of Sora.

 

_I don’t want to be connected to Sora!_

 

He feels something clogging his throat. It’s horribly salty, and the more he tries to force it out, cough it up, the more of it goes down his throat. He’s suddenly terrified, fighting against an invisible force that he’s not winning against. He wants to stop! He wants Sora to stop kissing him. Sora’s suffocating him. Roxas can’t breath. _Sora, Stop!!!_

 

His eyes fly open, Sora's gone, and he's underwater, saltwater filling his open mouth and entering his lungs. He’s drowning! He begins to scream, but it only succeeds in filling his lungs with more water. He’s going to die! He’s not ready to die yet!

 

 _“It’s okay. Take a deep breath. I’ve done this before. You’re going to be okay. Just breathe for me Roxas.”_ A calming, familiar voice reassures him. He doesn’t know why the voice comforts him. But he tries listening to it. He closes his eyes, and even though he thinks it will only speed up his drowning process, he takes a deep breath. This time, his lungs fill with fresh air.

 

When he opens his eyes again, he’s still underwater, falling deeper into the abyss. But he can suddenly breathe regularly. And he doesn’t feel scared anymore.

 

 _“Good job Roxas! You’re doing great! I’m right here with you!”_ The voices cheers him on. Roxas closes his eyes and breathes again, letting the current take him, choosing to trust the voice, even if it leads to his death.

 

At first he's just falling... _or is it sinking?_ Down into the darkness, further from the surface, from the light. He accepts his descent, if only because the omnipresent voice is encouraging him and keeping him sane. Then, after what feels like endless sinking, he’s being turned right side up, and his feet hit solid ground, even though when he looks down, he can’t see anything under him. It's pitch black. He's in the void, he's in complete darkness now. For a moment, he thinks this is how it should be, this is where he belongs, but the voice from above says otherwise:

 

_"You belong in the light Roxas, just like everyone else. I know it seems hard to accept, but it's true. Don't worry, I'll light the way for you."_

 

Before Roxas can process this, the darkness around him begins to break apart, the shattered black shards turning into pure white doves. He watches them fly away in amazement, feeling his own anxieties and nerves flying away with them. When he looks back down, he’s standing on a stained glass mural, the figure in the center a boy in a red jumpsuit, with spiky brown locks. He’s holding a large key. Next to him are four figures that Roxas doesn’t recognize. The boy’s eyes are closed, and yet Roxas imagines that if they were open, they’d be as blue as the sea. The person is familiar, even though Roxas knows he’s never seen this boy before. 

 

_Who is he?_

 

But he doesn’t have time to question it, because something appears through the darkness, a weird, shadowy figure, wiggling and writhing, as if it’s dancing. No eyes, no face. It’s something Roxas has never seen. It’s nobody he’s ever seen.

 

_It’s a nobody…_

 

And then there’s a flash of light in his hand, and he’s suddenly wielding the large key that the boy in the mural is holding. It’s not as heavy as he thought, it actually feels like he’s meant to hold it. Like it’s his. Like it chose him.

 

“ _The Keyblade."_ The voice from before says, as if for the last time. Roxas doesn’t know who, but he understands perfectly all the same.

 

“The Keyblade,” he repeats.

 

He turns back to the nobody, and charges forward. He feels a surge of anger as he does so. And also an underlying sadness. But most of all, a feeling of duty to the Keyblade, to the boy in the mural who once wielded it, like he has to honor its predecessor. He doesn’t like it.

 

But he doesn’t hate it.

 

He doesn’t know what to feel...except...

 

_You won’t take my life from me. I’m not ready to go yet!_

 

\--

 

He stares up at the boy in the the crystalline coffin. Looking so peaceful and still. For a second Roxas thinks he might be dead. Hopes he could be dead. But he’s only sleeping. And he needs to wake up now. Now that Roxas is here, Sora can wake up. Just like he was supposed to.

 

Roxas walks forward, watches the glass flower bloom, opening up for him, preparing to connect their souls together just like it intended. Always hoping that they would reconnect and become one again. Roxas hates it, that it knows what’s coming, what’s going to happen, and it doesn’t care how he feels. It’s only concern is the boy inside. Sora. He stops just in front of it, in front of the boy who was meant to exist, who’s supposed to exist, instead of him. Sora. His somebody.

 

The name Sora. It brings him a sense of dread. The feeling that time is slipping away. And now that he’s face to face with Sora, his time has run out.

 

\--

 

Summer vacation, just like Sea Salt Icecream, melts away far too quickly for Roxas’s liking.

 

_“Looks like my Summer Vacation, is over”_

**Author's Note:**

> I have loved Soroku since the 6th grade. This has been my longest and most consecutive ship, and I always, every few months, go into the Soroku tags on Fanfiction.net and A03, looking for some good Soroku content. It's very scarce, but I still love looking for it, and love it even more when I find some good quality content.
> 
> For the longest time though, I've never actually written a Soroku fanfiction. Anytime I tried, I could never think of what direction to go, so for the longest time I didn't. Also because even though I adore this, my otp, I just could never feel motivated to write about them? But now I'm like super obsessed with them again, and I suddenly feel very motivated to write about them. So here it is my first Soroku ever. And I'm surprised I wrote something in the canon universe. I very rarely ever see Soroku fanfiction that is set in canon (though I have like 3 that are canon game fics). Most Soroku (and maybe most KH fanfics) are usually highschool setting which I'm down with (that might also be why I didn't write, cause I felt like you can't oneshot a highschool Soroku fic. It's gotta be multichapters, go BIG OR GO HOME! And I just had a sneaking suspicion I'd never finish, so I didn't tempt it). So I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to make this. 
> 
> Please, I would love to hear what you think, and whether you want to see me write more of them. It would make me so happy to hear your opinion, and if a lot of people like my soroku, I'll probably be making more...maybe even, something multichaptered? GASP! Thank you again!
> 
> Remember, Roxas deserves his own heart too, and to be his own person, and KH3 implies Sora might go to great lengths to make Roxas his own person : ). If that ain't the best news ever, I don't know what is.


End file.
